Research Made Easy: 

The National Women’s Health Information Center 

By Jean Oxendine


Closing the Gap, Minority Women’s Health Initiative • June/July 1998


Where can you go to find information on minority women’s 

health without spending hours looking? The answer may 

be right at your fingertips. By calling their toll-free phone 

number or browsing their Web site, the National Women’s Health 

Information Center (NWHIC) can provide you with access to more 

than 80 federal health clearinghouses and hundreds of private sector 

organizations resources. 

A free service of HHS’s Office of Women’s Health (OWH), the 

NWHIC covers a variety of topics, some exclusive to women’s health 

issues, and others that affect both men and women. 

This is the “women’s health central” for federal and private sector 

information about women’s health for the public, health care professionals, medical researchers, educators, and women in the military, 

according to Suzanne Haynes, M.D., Assistant Director for Science at 

OWH. The NWHIC World Wide Web site can help you link to, read, 

and download a wide variety of women’s health-related material developed by HHS, other federal agencies, and private sector resources. 

From the Web site, you can access and download general or specific 

women’s health information and link to OWH’s Web site. 

The NWHIC can also be accessed through an information and 

referral telephone line which has information specialists available to 

clarify information needs and identify the most appropriate federal 

and private sector resources. And, when possible, they can contact 

federal agencies on behalf of callers to order documents from diverse 

federal organizations—thus saving callers time. The toll free telephone line (1-800-994-WOMAN) can be accessed from 8 a.m. to 9 

p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. 

If you require more specialized information, they can direct you 

to other federal toll-free lines where you will find specialists trained to 

answer specific health questions. 

The NWHIC is updated each week, according to Dr. Haynes. 

“We have to be in there changing it all of the time. Many topics, such 

as the ‘What’s New?’ section are constantly evolving,” she said. 

The NWHIC Web site offers three major categories through 

which women can retrieve health information. These are: “Frequently 

Asked Questions” (FAQ’s), “Health Information,” and “What’sNew?” 

There is also a section titled, “References,” which provides directories 

and listings of clearinghouses and hotlines, as well as databases of 

health information and other references. The Health Information 

category allows women to search the Web site using key words. 

The FAQ section provides general information for women on 

each subject matter and is not race-specific. As a follow up, each FAQ 

refers users to the “For More Information” section which lists organizations, Web sites, and clearinghouses. Often of interest to minority 

women in the FAQ section are: diabetes; diet and nutrition; exercise 

and high blood cholesterol; HIV/AIDS and STDS; smoking; and 

syphilis. 

The “What’s New” section provides information on upcoming 

conferences and announcements, and the “Current Events” section 

lists the most up-to-date information. A “Reference” section lists resources on topics, such as directories and publications on women’s 

health, including minority women’s health issues. 

The NWHIC will be publicized through a series of mini-launches 

at various women’s health meetings and symposiums, according to Dr. 

Haynes. “One exciting development with the NWHIC will take 

place next year,” she said. OWH will partner with the American Heart 

Association to create a “Health Risk Appraisal.” Through the Web site, 

women will enter their age, racial/ethnic group, and their degree of 

willingness to change their habits to improve their health. They will 

then receive individualized, culturally sensitive feed back listing steps 

they should take to improve their health. “The response will be tailored for each woman,” said Dr. Haynes. 

The NWHIC is available to address the unique health concerns 

of women from all races. Visitors to the Web site and callers should be 

aware that material contained in the NWHIC is intended to help 

educate and inform the public about women’s health issues, but it 

isn’t a substitute for medical advice from a health care professional. 

The NWHIC is a joint project of the OWH and the Defense 

Women’s Research Program of the U.S. Department of Defense. 

Visit the NWHIC on the Internet at http://www.4woman.org, or 

by using the toll-free telephone number, 1-800-994-9662.

Office of Minority Health Resource Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services